IT managers fear shortage of IoT skills, report says

According to a report published this week, companies and IT managers fear that their staff lack the skills and understanding to be able to use new technologies like the Internet of Things.

Produced by Capita Technology Solutions and Cisco, the ‘Trends vs Technologies’ report looks at nine leading technology trends and how well firms are able to exploit them for business purposes and benefits.

The report says technology is currently evolving at a ‘relentless pace’, with new innovations and trends emerging onto the scene, and many of them have the potential to revolutionise the world of business.

Big disconnects

It has found there’s often disconnects been technological vision and the realistic prospect of implementation. There’s also a clear gap between the relevance of trends – particularly IoT, the cloud and big data – and identifying opportunities.

One of key trends in the piece is IoT and the data it creates. Despite 90 percent of businesses believing that big data is a relevant trend, only 39 percent are actually implementing strategies.

Lack of IoT skills

And while 70 percent of respondents said they found IoT relevant, a staggering 71 percent are struggling on the skills side of things. IT decision-makers are worried that staff just don’t have the skills to use the tech and identify growth opportunities.

Connected devices create a lot of data, and firms are struggling to make sense of it all. 80 percent said they don’t have the skills to capitalise on IoT data, citing many barriers to full-scale adoption. These include security and data governance risks.

Security fears

Security – whether it be hackers targeting firms for access to lucrative data or simply ensuring information isn’t leaked – is a major challenge. 31 percent of the businesses that took part in the report said it’s the biggest challenge to using IoT.

Artificial intelligence is a major area of interest for business, too. 50 percent of businesses said AI is relevant to their industry, while wearable technology was at 46 percent. And 16 percent still don’t see potential in cloud tech.

Businesses are “bombarded”

Adam Jarvis, CEO of CTS, wrote in the report: “CT decision makers across all industries today are operating in an environment where they are regularly bombarded with the latest technological trend, accompanied by the promise that it could transform business operation for the future.

“Cutting through the hype surrounding each new piece of tech can be a challenge, with each new tool being touted as the next big game changer for businesses across the board. But there is no doubt that some emerging technologies do have the potential to completely transform not just the way we work but our society as a whole.

“This new report, created in partnership with Cisco, highlights how businesses perceive those trends: which of the current emerging technologies they believe truly offer the opportunity to get ahead of the competition, and which of them are they willing – and able – to adopt.”